The Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) is an item of United States federal election law signed into law on October 29, 2002 by President Bush. Under HAVA, a new federal voter registration form was created. HAVA guarantees the ability of individuals to cast a provisional ballot and have the validity of their registration checked later if they do not appear on voter registration rolls.

Main Points of HAVA

The law encourages states to replace punch card and lever voting machines and requires:

1. Voters to show ID before voting
2. States to provide provisional ballots for voters whose registration status is unclear when they arrive to vote
3. States to provide a way for those with impaired vision or hearing to cast a secret ballot
4. States to make polling locations and voting machines accessible to voters with physical disabilities
5. Voting machines to allow voters to verify ballots before they are cast
6. Voters be able to correct a mistake or leave a blank, i.e., not cast a vote in a particular contest
7. Voters be notified if they "misvote," i.e., cast votes for two different candidates running for the same office. Voters must also be told if a misvote will void their ballot
8. Voting systems to leave a record that can be audited
9. Voting systems to leave a permanent paper record that can be used as an official record should a recount become necessary
10. States, in some cases, provide ballots for voters who don't speak English
11. States to create and maintain electronic voter registration databases and improve efforts to remove ineligible voters from the registration rolls
12. States to offer sample ballots for voters to review before the date of the election
13. Absentee voters to provide copies of IDs or an ID number for voter verification, but states must maintain the secrecy of the vote.

Additional Information Links:

Florida Department of State
http://election.dos.state.fl.us/hava/index.shtml

View a PDF copy of the HAVA Bill
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/hava/pl252_107.pdf